December 22, 2020

In choosing a new U.S. senator and a new secretary of state, Gov. Gavin Newsom could shape Democratic politics for years to come.

Al elegir un nuevo senador estadounidense y una nueva secretaria de estado, el gobernador Gavin Newsom podría moldear la política demócrata en los próximos años.

Gov. Newsom’s chosen successor to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is a tech-minded voting rights booster, a Latino who came of age during the nativist political upheaval of the 1990s and a longtime Newsom loyalist.

The battle has begun over billions of dollars allegedly stolen during the pandemic, pitting state officials against a web of scammers and their own private contractors. With another stimulus bill poised to inject more cash into a leaky system, taxpayers could be left holding the bag.

As pandemic shutdowns intensify, more than a third of jobs in three California industries that rely on events — sports, performing arts and catering — have already disappeared. And they’ve been slower to recover than the state workforce as a whole.

The stimulus deal does not include aid for state and local governments that Gov. Newsom spent months lobbying for. But he said the cash that will flow to Californians is significant.

As basketball season opens with no fans, Californians who work at ballparks, arenas and stadiums are out of work. For 21 years, Monica Corona has served food and drinks at Oakland Arena during concerts and basketball games, rising in the ranks to concessions lead and even recruiting her three sons to work there.  But since […]

California’s catering businesses were booming. Then the pandemic hit. One caterer who stages high-end parties says she has lost more than 75% of her revenue. Christine McEnery hasn’t “cracked the code” on how to get her business back amid a global pandemic.  After losing every gig she had on the calendar for 2020, the Monterey […]

California’s dancers, musicians and other performers have lost their audience to a pandemic. Some may never return to the stage even when the patrons are back. Marica Kumayama Petrey had put eight months of pre-production work into the live debut for her first album with a new pop/rock band, Girl Swallows Nightingale, planned for March. […]

Here are additional protections that need to be implemented in this relief package to better serve BIPOC-owned and rural small businesses: